Diet Coke
by LoVerIsAFighter
Summary: What if Dick gave Madison diet coke that fateful night at Shelly Pomeroy's end of the year party? What if Veronica was sober and able to come out of her shell all on her own? How does Logan deal with the new and improved Veronica Mars? LoVe. AU/Preseries ON HIATUS.
1. Chapter 1

**Diet Coke**

** What if Dick gave Madison diet coke that fateful night at Shelly Pomeroy's end of the year party? What if Veronica was sober and able to come out of her shell all on her own? How does Logan deal with the new and improved Veronica Mars? LoVe. AU/Preseason**

**RT they belong to you. Thoughts are in italics.**

The party was in full swing when Veronica Mars walked in. _I'm regretting this already_, she thought, as she avoided several glares from people who she would have called her friends up until a couple months ago. Logan Echolls had made sure that they would not mistake her for their friend anymore. The word of Veronica's ostracism had spread like wildfire throughout the school and to her astonishment; everyone had just accepted it—_well almost everyone_. Veronica spotted Meg on the sofa and decided to try her luck at starting up a conversation with the sweetest girl she knew.

"Hi, Meg." she said cautiously. _If Meg has been persuaded to hate me too I think I'll lose hope in humanity._

"Ver-Veronica" she stuttered, obviously surprised at her presence. The torn look on Meg's face said it all. She sympathized with Veronica but she was too afraid to stand up for her. And when Veronica saw her look from side to side she wondered if she might even be afraid to be seen with her. "What are you doing here?" The tone in her voice let Veronica know that she wasn't ridiculing her for being there; rather she was concerned for her. Veronica knew she was exposed here. And no, it wasn't that her pure white sundress was too revealing; it was that she wasn't on her home turf here. She was not an 09er by right, she had only been one by her association with Lilly, Logan and Duncan. Now she had no one left to support her, which left her vulnerable. The 09ers never appreciated it when their parties got crashed by uninvited lower class citizens.

Before Veronica could answer Meg, Cole swooped in to "save" his girlfriend from the disgrace of having to talk to Veronica Mars. Cole didn't even spare a word for Veronica—he just pulled Meg away in the direction of the pool. Meg looked over her shoulder and cast Veronica a pained look, but she didn't try to escape Cole's grasp. _Ok, so the one person here that I was sure would actually talk to me just left me alone. What now?_

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Dick watched Madison slowly sip the drink he had given her. He was simply delighted by the idea that he was going to have a sure thing tonight. _Good thing I remembered to get her diet soda or all of my efforts may have gone to waste. That bitch is so uptight about counting carbs! She can just burn them off with me later tonight anyway. _Dick had talked Luke into giving him both doses of his GHB to give to Madison after a rather embarrassing display of how little Madison wanted Dick to be touching her.

Madison looked unknowingly up at her boyfriend and gave him a sarcastic "Thanks for the drink, Dick." _No, thank you_, he thought to himself as a wicked smile split his face.

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Veronica was feeling her plan to show the 09ers that she was strong falling short. She had been ignored by most party guests, and when she did talk to someone she wished that they would have overlooked her as well. Madison Sinclair for one had been especially bitchy to her earlier in the evening. "Who invited you?" she had said. Veronica had simply looked down at the clear straps on her heels wishing that she too could be see-through and walked away. The funny thing is that Madison had actually been the one to invite her months ago, as she excitedly talked about the upcoming annual event with Lilly. Veronica noticed that Madison seemed to have relaxed some since then. She was dancing and singing to Dick, which seemed very out of character for her. _I suppose she is off her diet because she looks like she has had plenty to drink tonight._

"Veronica Mars." someone slurred from behind her. _I'd know that voice anywhere. It used to be a voice I was happy to hear. _Veronica hesitantly turned around to face the speaker.

"Logan…" she began. She could already feel the tears start to burn behind her eyes before he had even said anything to her. It was that raw look in his eyes. She could clearly see his pain and suffering deep within his brown eyes. But what she couldn't bear to see was the hate that was situated on the surface of all that pain. The tears were making it hard to see now. She didn't need to hear his hatred for eyes to water, after all, he had said plenty over the last couple of months and she knew what was coming would be particularly brutal with all that alcohol flowing through him.

"Did you come here looking to get lucky Mars? Maybe you've forgotten, but people like us," he pointed to himself and the cronies surrounding him "are never that desperate. Maybe you should hit up the biker bar instead. You'll be more likely to find someone with lowered standards there." Veronica looked away as the first tear began to fall. "You don't belong here Mars. You never did." With that Logan turned and sped off to get himself another drink.

As he turned around the smirk fell from his face. _Why does she have to be here? Seeing her makes me think of Lilly and I don't want to think about Lilly right now. Right now is the time to have fun._ Logan reaches into his pocket and pulls out his dose of liquid X. He was going to save it for a more special occasion, but thoughts of Lilly, Veronica and the old Duncan were starting to bombard his brain. He needed a break from his own mind.

Veronica refused to let Logan see the rest of the tears that were inevitably going to fall due to his little speech. Veronica found an unpopulated area of the house where she could calm down and tried desperately to think about anything other than Logan's words. _I don't belong here. Maybe he is right. No—I'm not going to let him get to me. _After calming her breathing and a quick mental pep talk Veronica had a new found resolve and she was ready to face the crowd again.

_I can do this. I am going to show them that I don't care what they think about me. It's time to crank up the volume, Mars._

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Eventually the evening turned into a giant game of 'truth or dare' and they were all sitting in a circle. Veronica was sitting behind the circle because no one would let her squeeze in beside them. She had only been observing so far and was fine with that, but suddenly she heard Sean's voice break through the barrier that the 09er students had formed. "Veronica Mars." _Great, this can only be bad. _"Truth or dare?"

_Ok Veronica, you wanted to be included, here is your chance. Choose truth and they will try to gain information they can taunt you with for months. Choose dare and they will make you do something that will most likely be humiliating, but hopefully the embarrassment will only last tonight. _Veronica had gotten used to keeping secrets over the past few months. "Dare," she said a little quieter than she wanted so she tried again, this time with confidence in her voice "dare."

"I dare you to…" Sean said, drawing it out to torture her, she presumed. Sean glanced around the room and once his gaze hit a certain truth or dare participant, the look on his face became particularly devilish. "I dare you to kiss Logan Echolls." There was a collective gasp followed by silence from the rest of the circle, and all eyes were trained on one or other of the unlikely pair.

It took Logan a minute to register what Sean said. Veronica thought he looked a lot drunker than he did during their last encounter. The look on Logan's face when he realized the implications of the dare was rather priceless: disgust, betrayal, and perhaps a little pleasure—at the expense of Veronica's pain of course. "What? Sean, dude, you don't know where she's been. Are you _trying_ to give me some disease?" As she heard the hushed room break out into laughter, Veronica could feel the anger bubbling up inside her. He knew, more than anyone that she had never had sex before and that Duncan was the only boy she had ever kissed, aside from a few kisses shared during similar party games. Why had he started spreading such vile rumors about her? _Bite your tongue Logan._ And then she had an idea.

Veronica began to crawl through the wall of 09ers, pushing Shelly Pomeroy and John Enbom out of the way roughly. She saw a flash of surprise on Logan's face but then it was followed by his usual arrogant smirk. "Can't resist a kiss from me, eh Mars?" Logan decided to meet her in the middle. He knew he wasn't actually going to catch anything from the virgin, and she was a hot blonde after all. _No, not hot_, he corrected. _But she's decent enough._ Besides, he could tease her relentlessly about this later. "Fine, but I'm not calling you after," he jeered. He leaned in close and kissed her lips. This was no peck like he had figured; she pressed her mouth firmly against him and parted her lips in an invitation. Logan accepted a little too eagerly and slipped his tongue inside her mouth—and all too soon realized his mistake. "Ow! You bit me! What is wrong with you, bitch?" His words came out sounding as though he had a lisp and Veronica had to try hard not to laugh out loud.

Veronica smiled and confidently stood to her feet, now hovering—menacingly if you can believe Veronica Mars capable of that sort of thing—over the boy on his knees. "That was a warning. Next time you feel the urge to call me a slut or spread a ridiculous rumor about me—bite your tongue. Cause next time Logan," she paused for dramatic effect. She felt as though she were channeling Lilly in this moment. "I won't be so gentle." She couldn't help but grin at her triumph as she walked away leaving the entire circle of 09ers speechless in her wake.

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As Veronica walked away, she thought it would be a good idea to hide out for a bit while she reveled in her victory. She quickly went down one of the house's long hallways to find a bathroom. _The great thing about 09er homes is that there are usually at least five different bathrooms which means there will be no long lines. _While Veronica washed her hands she decided it was time to accept that she was on her own. She had to wash her hands of the 09ers too. The relationships she had weren't coming back and she was realizing she didn't even want them back. She decided that it was time to go home and start working on finding out who she is without them. But plans are made to be broken, right?

As she walked through the quiet upstairs hallway she passed a doorway that was slightly cracked. Inside she heard a few male voices. "Dude you can have your turn after me, but she's my girlfriend so I get the first ride."

"Dick, she's barely conscious, are you serious?" Cassidy Casablancas said with a slightly disgusted tone to his voice.

"Beaver, man get out. This is my business. Thanks for helping me carry her up here, now scram." Veronica ran to hide in a doorway further down the hall. Thankfully when she saw a disheartened Cassidy exit the bedroom, he was unaware of her presence. He slumped his shoulders as he walked away, but by the time he reached the end of the hallway he was barreling for the exit with his hand over his mouth. Veronica knew what he was doing because it's what she wanted to do right now.

Veronica was afraid. She knew she couldn't take on Dick by herself for fear of what he might do to her as well. She hurried down the hall to find help, and as she passed by the door once more she could hear Madison speaking incoherently to Dick and she could see Dick taking off his shirt. Veronica searched the party but everyone she saw that looked half-sober wouldn't even look at her. Then she spotted Duncan.

"Duncan! Duncan! I need your help!" she screamed. This of course got her some pretty harsh stares. Shelly Pomeroy, who was hanging off of Duncan's arm at the time, was giving her an especially fierce evil eye. "Duncan, Madison is in trouble upstairs. I need your help. Please, Duncan."

Duncan hesitated. He had seen her display with Logan a few minutes ago and he was a little afraid of what she might be trying to pull on him, but at the sound of desperation in her voice he nodded for her to show him the way. He didn't say a word to her, but he followed her upstairs to the guest room. Duncan burst in the room in time to see Dick pulling the underwear from underneath Madison's skirt. "Dude! What the Hell are you doing?" he screamed.

Dick was startled by the intrusion and jumped off the bed without looking. He tripped over his own pants and shirt that were lying messily on the floor and fell flat on his face. Duncan ran to where Dick was lying in the floor and started to punch him while Veronica checked on Madison. She was out of it and had no idea what was going on, but she was ok. Veronica helped her redress and noticed that one of the straps on her dress was broken. Veronica looked over at Duncan and Dick and realized that Duncan was still hitting the limp form of the blonde surfer._ Is he trying to kill him? Not that that would be a terrible thought right now, but he was seriously about to do some permanent damage._

"Duncan, Duncan! Stop!" she yelled. Suddenly Duncan snapped out of his rage and crumbled to the floor. _What happened to him?_

Duncan slowly stood up and asked Veronica what happened. _What happened? He was there, why does he not know what happened?_ Veronica told Duncan what had happened and asked him if he was ok.

"I'm fine Veronica. I think I should drive Madison home. We can't leave her here in this condition." he said.

"What about Dick?" Veronica asked. She wasn't sure how bad he was hurt or if he needed to go to the hospital.

Duncan stared at Dick for a minute while he pondered that question. _D__id I really do this to him?_ he wondered as he watched his friend with a bloody nose and an already bruising eye slowly wake up. "Find Cassidy. Tell him to take his sorry brother home." he finally decided.

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It took Duncan and Veronica quite a while to handle the situation. Veronica had to find Cassidy and convince him to take Dick home. He was reluctant to at first, but Duncan told him that he didn't have an option and that seemed to work once he saw the damage Duncan had caused his older brother. Duncan asked Shelly if she knew where Madison had planned on spending the night. Shelly said she was supposed to stay with her, but Veronica thought it was too risky to leave her here in that state. After several options were discussed, they finally came to the conclusion that it would be best if they just took her home. Everyone knew that Madison's parents would let her get away with anything, so even if they got caught carrying a passed out Madison inside they thought she wouldn't get into trouble.

One of Madison's friends was going with Duncan to help him carry her and so someone would be there to explain things to her in the morning. Veronica thought they should call the police, but Duncan had talked her into letting Madison make that decision when she was more aware of what was going on around her. _I don't see why she wouldn't want to press charges against Dick, but it makes sense to let her make up her own mind. _Once everything was settled, the group headed outside.

Now that Madison was safely in Duncan's car Veronica began walking towards her LeBaron._ I am so ready to be home. This has been a pretty horrible night. If I wasn't already sure that I don't want these people as my friends, I certainly am now. _Upon arriving at her car Veronica noticed a figure leaning against the driver's side door. She cautiously approached to find out who was waiting for her. Whoever it is brings the flask up to his mouth and apparently finds it lacking because he is now turning it upside down and watching a single drop fall to the ground.

"You're here." Logan said. He seemed happy to see her. _What is that about? _Veronica thought.

"Logan. What are you doing sitting by my car? Don't tell me you're already ready for another kiss." Veronica smirked to cover the fact that she was bracing herself for the verbal abuse that was surely coming her way. She found that she was proud of herself for not letting him see that his mere presence upset her.

Logan looked up into Veronica's eyes. "I miss you." he said with sincerity. _Well, that was not what I expected._

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I would really appreciate reviews because this is my very first story. Also, I don't have a beta. I'm not quite sure how that works really, so if someone wants to volunteer...I mainly worry over sentence structure cause I want to make sure it makes sense.

Thanks for reading! More to come!


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

**Last time in Diet Coke: Veronica goes to Shelly Pomeroy's party, but Madison is the one to drink the laced rum and coke. Logan takes the drugs instead of dosing Duncan. Veronica decides to toughen up on her own and teaches Logan a lesson during a game of truth or dare. Dick tries to rape Madison but Veronica stops him with Duncan's help. When Veronica goes to leave she finds Logan waiting for her at her car. **

Logan looked up into Veronica's eyes. "I miss you." he said with sincerity. _Well, that was not what I expected._

"Logan what is that supposed to mean?" she asked desperately. His face remained the same so she continued. "You have been torturing me for the last two months and now you try to tell me that you miss me? How dare you say that to me?" By this point Veronica's voice is hitting a crescendo. "_I_ miss you, not the other way around. _You_ are the one that ruined the possibility of a friendship between us. You have tried your best to destroy me, Logan!" After her rant Veronica could feel tears welling up in her eyes so she looked down at the ground to avoid his gaze. _What am I doing? Logan is offering me something here and I'm yelling at him? This is what you want Veronica. Why are you sabotaging yourself? Take it graciously and thank him for letting you back in. _But Veronica realized that she had changed. She loved Duncan and Logan, but she was no longer a 'forgive and forget' kind of girl. She deserved better, and now she could see that. She could no longer trust anyone but herself.

"Veronica please, I miss you. I don't want to hate you anymore." He shook his head a little too vigorously as he said the last sentence, and she could see that he was very drunk and possibly high, and that made her even angrier. She realized that he would just forget her again in the morning; he would probably go back to being overjoyed by her absence from his life. She couldn't deal with that.

"Logan you have no right to say you miss me. If you don't want to hate me, then don't hate me, but leave me alone." With that she got into her car and drove off in her LeBaron.

A dejected Logan walked up the driveway and back inside Shelly's house where he ran into Cindy. He had her in his Xterra within fifteen minutes. He was Logan Echolls after all.

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Logan woke up the next morning with a small hand that was not his own resting haphazardly on his face. _Oh yes, the freshman. What was her name again? __Cathy? Lindsey? Who cares, I just need to get her out of here. _Logan woke her up and told her he had somewhere important to be. She not-so-subtly asked him if he wanted to have breakfast with his parents first. _Right, she really likes you for you_, he thought.

This was only the third time he has had mindless sex since Lilly died and it is getting slightly easier every time. He and Lilly weren't even together when she died, but he still feels like he is cheating on her, or on her memory. He's not dumb, he suspects that Lilly cheated on him multiple times when they were together. There were several times when they were making out that he discovered a hickey that he was sure he didn't give to her. She could somehow always talk him into it though—like maybe he just forgot? _Right, so why do I feel so guilty?_

After the girl was gone he fell backwards onto his bed and tried to remember the party last night.

He remembered drinking, flirting, and laughing—then he remembered Veronica. _What had she been doing there?_ The memory of their first encounter hurried back to him. He remembered taking the drugs he got in Tijuana because he couldn't take the thoughts of Lilly any more. He tried to remember what happened after he took the drugs._ I made out with someone, maybe a few different someone's, I swam in the pool, I played truth or dare with everyone—oh God I kissed Veronica Mars and she turned into a complete psycho. She threatened me. What was she thinking? _Logan moved on and worked hard to remember the rest of the evening._ After the kiss, I numbed my tongue with another bottle of something, I remember being outside. I told Veronica I missed her. Oh hell, I'm never doing drugs again. All of those speakers at school assemblies were right; drugs really do bring about bad decisions._

As the fuzzy recollections crept back, Logan was pelted with the memory of what Veronica had said back to him. _She didn't care. She didn't care that I said I missed her. She acted like I should be ashamed of myself for saying I miss her. But she did admit that she missed me._ Logan wasn't sure if that made him feel worse or if it made him feel better. Logan sat up in bed and decided he needed to clear his head. He called Duncan and asked him if he wanted to go surfing. That always did the trick.

Duncan and Logan hadn't gotten much surfing in yet that morning. The waves had been pretty tame so far and so the boys had plenty of time to talk. Duncan was obviously pissed off at Dick. Logan thought Madison was a total bitch, but he still completely agreed with Duncan. Logan never even imagined that any of the guys would end up using the drugs for something like that when they were in Tijuana. He was also a little worried that if Madison pressed charges it would get out that he had the drugs as well and his dad was not the type to let him get away with something like that.

Since Lilly's death his dad had been going easy on him. It was as if he felt sorry for Logan. But it had been over two months now and though he hadn't had a full on beating yet, that's not to say he hasn't been knocked around a little. Logan found it ironic that during a time in his life when he was acting out more than ever, his father was holding back. But lately he could tell that his father was itching to break out the belts and Logan knew it was only a matter of time until all the anger his dad had been keeping bottled up would come out. _When it does come it will be one hell of a thrashing._

Logan's mind had wandered while thinking about his dad, but he snapped out of it at the mention of a certain tiny blonde. "Just think man, if Veronica hadn't been there he probably would have totally gotten away with it too. Maybe Madison will lay off the blatant Veronica-hating she's been doing lately." Duncan sounded hopeful about that. Logan didn't understand him. _Why does he care what Madison or anyone else does to Veronica? Didn't she support her father as he tried to destroy his family? And didn't she do something horrible enough to cause him to break up with her without even telling her?_

"Duncan come on, you're making her out to sound like some kind of hero or something. What, are you still in love with her?" he said with a laugh. When Duncan didn't respond Logan looked up and saw a red tint creep up his neck and face. _He _is _still in love with her._ "Why did you break up with her?" he wondered out loud. This was something that he had been puzzled by for some time, but Duncan never said anything about it and Logan figured he was embarrassed that she had cheated on him or something equally as shameful so he didn't press the issue.

"It's not important, ok?" he stated with finality; and that was that. Logan could see that the topic of Veronica Mars was no longer being discussed. Logan decided it would be best not to mention their run-in at the end of the night anyway. The topic turned to the surf, the party, and the drama that was sure to ensue after a party like that. They called it a day when there hadn't been a decent wave to come along in a good twenty minutes and they went their separate ways.

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Veronica spent the rest of the weekend studying for semester finals and finding her inner red satin. She cut off her long blonde locks and took her savings with her on a shopping spree. _Well Lilly would never call five shirts, two skirts and a pair of butch boots a spree, but I don't have a no-limit credit card to my name either._ Veronica giggled at the idea of Lilly being with her while she chose her new wardrobe. She wished she could be there for every purchase, every twirl in front of the mirror and every trial hairstyle. Veronica even practiced hiding her emotions in the mirror when she got home. By the end of the weekend she felt like a pro.

Veronica's mom had left not even a month ago and it still hurt her every second of every day. She was unsure if her dad had tried to track her down yet, but she was also unsure of what he would find if he did. She had been drinking heavily ever since her dad's 'conspiracy theories' had lost him his job. Veronica wished she could talk to her mother about what was going on at school but she didn't dwell on it. _She's gone and I might as well accept that for now_, she thought.

She was certain that Lilly would have been proud of the courage Veronica had at the party with Logan, Dick, Madison and the sea of faces that scowled at her throughout the duration, and she would have laughed her ass off at the prank Veronica pulled on Logan during truth or dare. Lilly always said that Duncan and Logan needed to be put in their place every once in a while, but it was usually Lilly who would knock them down a peg or two. Lilly would definitely appreciate her deviousness.

Veronica was going to be ready for anything that they threw at her at school on Monday. _Tomorrow is a new day, and it's the first day in months that I won't let myself cry at school. It's time for a change, and I hope that it's a change you will be proud of Lilly._

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At school on Monday morning, Veronica was pleased to note that there weren't any 09ers waiting for her to arrive to taunt her as she walked to her locker. That wasn't an everyday occurrence however, so she was unsure if it had anything to do with her display at Shelly's or if it was just due to finals beginning that morning. Veronica decided to go ahead and write it off as a small victory to boost her confidence.

She walked into the school building without looking a single person in the eyes. She was somewhat scared she would lose her nerve if she did. Veronica curled her short blonde locks to flip away from her face this morning and she was wearing one of her new outfits. She sported black combat boots, an army green, cut-off mini skirt and a tight black sweater with a scoop neckline. She felt hot in her new clothes and assured herself that the gazes she could feel on her back while she stood at her locker to get out the appropriate materials for her first final were a mixture of awe and jealousy. _Ha ha—right, you just need to keep in mind that you don't care what they think anymore, Veronica._

Logan saw her walk in. He watched her walk right past him without noticing he was in the building and he was pissed. But then he fixed his eyes on her new clothes and those feeling evaporated and were replaced by something else. Logan was in awe of her new attitude and her sexy new style. He heard Shelly's voice and realized he was staring and if he was honest with himself he was salivating a little bit too. But he wasn't ready to be honest with himself just yet.

"Logan, you had fun at my party, right?" Shelly asked again with a little irritation in her voice this time. She saw the looks Duncan, Logan and the other guys were giving Veronica when she walked in and she couldn't help but be jealous. They were definitely not the usual hate-filled stares that she usually received. Duncan's jaw literally dropped and Shelly tried desperately to draw the attention back to her.

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Logan wasn't happy with his reaction to the new look and attitude that Veronica Mars walked into the school with today. He just stood there unable to look away and unable to come up with any type of insult. He knew he needed to make up for it at lunch when he saw her sitting alone, as usual, at her red plastic table in the sun. On his way to the 09er table he stopped by for what he expected to be a little drive-by cruelty. "Looking sluttier than ever this afternoon, Mars" he said in passing and he gave her a mock salute as he kept on going. But her words stopped him in his tracks.

"Gee, thanks Logan. You are looking far more pompous than usual yourself," she said easily with an obviously fake sweet smile.

"Excuse me, Mars? Are you talking to me?" he said while turning back around. He wasn't used to her talking back. Normally by now she would be silently crying and would have gone back to eating her disgustingly cheap cafeteria meal. He is in a state of shock and at the moment he has no witty comebacks for her.

"You're the only obligatory jackass I see around here. Oh, wait there's Dick." She points to Dick who is just arriving at the 09er table. "Now I see why you might have been confused." Her look says she is sorry for confusing him.

He can't believe she is comparing him to Dick after what happened this weekend. Logan was cruel, yes, but he would never hurt a girl in that way. And after what Duncan told him about Veronica being the one to stop him, Logan knows that it is not just a coincidence that she is using Dick as an example. Logan is angry and hurt but he just mutters a "Whatever" under his breath as he walks away.

But as he is retreating her perky voice calls out one last blow and he can hear the smirk on her face without turning around to see it. "Bye Logan, _I'll miss you_."

His blood is boiling now. _Who_ _does she think she is, talking to me like that?_ Logan could feel the eyes of his friends around the table on him. He knew they were wondering how on earth Logan Echolls just got his ass handed to him by Veronica Mars. To be honest, he was rather ashamed of himself, but he was not expecting that from Veronica and neither were they so, how could they blame him? _Apparently I need a new game plan._

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After school Veronica spots Madison walking out to the parking lot. Madison has been terrible to Veronica since Logan proclaimed open season on her, but she was still an old 'frienemy' as Lilly called her, and Veronica wanted to make sure she was ok. "Madison," she called as she caught up to her. "Hey, how are you?"

Madison looks at her with her usual hatred at first and opens her mouth to insult her, but is stopped by the memory of her friend's explanation of what happened at Shelly's party. She may hate Veronica Mars, but she supposes she owes her at least a little gratitude. "Hi. I'm fine, thanks." she says and she thinks it comes out a little cold, but she can't manage to feel sorry about that.

"I just wanted to check up on you. If you need anyone to talk to about it, I'm here." Veronica gives her a half smile as she says this. She can't help but feel slightly hopeful. If she was to regain one friend of all of the 09ers, she would not have chosen Madison Sinclair, but she just went through something terrible and Veronica wondered if it would change her outlook on life in the slightest way.

"I'm alright Veronica, really. I don't need therapy or anything, God." she declares sounding annoyed. Veronica nods to her and starts to walk away, but Madison calls out to her. "Veronica." Veronica turns back around already a few feet away and looks up at Madison waiting for her to continue. "Thank you." she utters looking a little misty-eyed and she walks away to her car.

Veronica mentally adds this to her list of victories for the day. _Veronica Mars 3. Neptune 0. It's _a good start for day one.

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When Madison reaches her car, Dick is waiting for her. "Madi, baby, you haven't returned any of my calls." he says and she thinks that he sounds more worried about himself than he does about her.

"Dick, I told you that it's over. Ok? So leave me alone. Last time I checked I had 37 missed calls from you. Can you really be that desperate?" she says wanting to hurt him like he hurt her. "I'm not listening to any more of your voice mails, so you can go ahead and stop leaving them." To be honest, Madison was a little frightened talking to Dick right now with the closest people to them being several yards away, but there was no way in hell she was going to show it. "If you don't leave me alone Dick, I am going to press charges."

Dick seems to believe her, because he walks away and Madison can't be more grateful. Too bad Dick can't stop himself from drunk-dialing her 11 more times before its even dinner time.

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I was floored by all the reviews and story alerts this got! I had no idea there were quite so many readers out there that would like my story. Thank you all so much! **Please** review this chapter as well and let me know if it is still good!


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

**Previously: ****Veronica goes to Shelly Pomeroy's party, but Madison is the one to drink the laced rum and coke. Veronica decides to toughen up on her own and teaches Logan a lesson during a game of truth or dare. Dick tries to rape Madison but Veronica stops him with Duncan's help. ****Veronica yells at Logan for saying that he misses her. Over the weekend Veronica gets a makeover and Logan finds out about Dick from Duncan. Logan insults Veronica at lunch, but for once she fights back. Dick is constantly calling Madison and she threatens pressing charges for the attempted rape.**

Veronica had just finished up getting the bills ready to be sent out for her father's promising new private eye business when the phone rang. Madison Sinclair's name popped up on her cell phone's screen. Veronica only hesitated a moment before answering with a tentative "Hello."

"Veronica." Madison said. Veronica waited for her to continue, and the line was filled with an awkward silence before Veronica decided to speak up again.

"Madison, how are you doing?" she questioned with a delicate voice. She was afraid if she spoke too forcefully the temporary truce—if you can really call one 'thank you' a truce—would be broken once again.

When Madison spoke again, Veronica thought she could hear the remnants of tears in her unsteady voice. "Fine, I was just wondering if you," she paused as if she was unsure if she should continue.

"Madison, I am here for you. Whatever you need." she reassured her. She wasn't quite sure why she cared so much, but the thought of what would have happened to Madison if she didn't intervene scared her and she hoped that someone would care for her if it had been her. She tried not to let her mind wander to those possibilities however, considering she was pretty sure everyone at that party would have stepped over her unconscious body for free gum—including Madison Sinclair.

Madison finally blurted out an answer in a hurry as though she was afraid of losing her nerve. "I was wondering if you would come with me to the police station to file a complaint against Dick, as a witness."

"Oh, of course I will Madison. Have you talked to Duncan yet?" she asked.

"Well, he is Dick's friend so," she left the sentence unfinished.

Veronica was surprised, but then she remembered how little Duncan liked confrontation and she assumed he hadn't talked to Madison since he dropped her off at home. "Well, don't worry about that Madison. Duncan may be his friend, but he was very angry with Dick when he saw what he was trying to do. I'll call Duncan for you. Let's meet in the parking lot after school tomorrow, ok?"

"Umm, ok." Madison said and then she abruptly hung up. _Well that was the most civil conversation I've had with Madison in a while. Who am I kidding, that was the most civil conversation I have _ever _had with Madison Sinclair._

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When Duncan gets the call from Veronica, Logan is with him. Duncan is uneasy about the idea of going to the police station, not only because Dick is a friend, but also due to his blackout. He still doesn't remember what happened between him bursting in the room and falling to the floor next to a badly beaten Dick. He will have to rely on what Veronica told him happened when he gives his statement and hope that the police don't notice anything strange. Duncan thinks about talking to Logan about it for a second, but then thinks better of it. His mom would be awfully upset with him if she knew he was spilling his little secret.

Logan can feel anger rising in his chest just at the mention of Veronica's name as Duncan answers his phone. How had he let her one-up him in front of everyone at school today? He couldn't believe that Veronica Mars was actually holding his confession against him. Sometimes he wished things could just go back to the way they were before, but he knew she was right. He had ruined things for them. But hadn't she started it when she chose her father over Lilly? Or had he been the one to start it by making her choose? _This is starting to make my head hurt. _

Duncan was off the phone by now and he seemed to be just as lost in his thoughts as Logan was. "So, Duncan, wanna blow this popsicle stand and get wasted? My treat." He asked his best friend with an enticing smile.

"Logan it's a Monday and we have finals tomorrow. Don't you think you need to lay off the drinking a little bit man? It's like all you ever want to do anymore." _Duncan: ever the party pooper. Well at least he seems to be concerned for my well being which is more than I've been getting from him lately._ But Logan knew he was right. It _was_ all he ever wanted to do anymore. It was the only time he could forget. Forget Lilly. Forget Veronica. _God, why does Veronica have to keep popping into my head? _

"Fine, fine, suit yourself. I'll see you tomorrow." And with that Logan left Duncan alone in his room in front of a paused video game that they had only just begun. Duncan just switched to a one player game and hit continue.

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The next day at school Veronica decided that if she was going to be stuck at Neptune High for the next two and a half years, it was time to actively seek out some worthy friends. Everyone at this school couldn't possibly hate her, right? There had to be at least one or two souls here at Neptune High that didn't believe all the ridiculous rumors being spread about her and could understand her loyalty to her family. Oh, how she hoped she was right.

Veronica didn't pay attention in any of her classes today. She was too busy inspecting faces. As she watched the reactions of her classmates upon her entering a room, she found hatred and mocking planted on most, but she skipped over them. They weren't what she was looking for. She also skipped over the people who ignored her completely—they reminded her of Duncan. In the study hall she had just before lunch Veronica found what she was looking for in the form of a girl sitting alone at a table with her nose in a computer programming textbook.

She never looked Veronica's way, at least not when Veronica was looking, but she flinched at every 'slut sneeze' and grimaced at every proposal of indecent after school activities. She seemed like she wanted to fade into the background, to not be seen, yet she had bright magenta streaks flowing through her naturally brown hair. Veronica had seen the girl around, but with Lilly in the picture, no one else stood out. But now, when everyone seems to hate her, the girl that is showing the most amount of sympathy Veronica has seen since this all started stands out like Michael Jordan would as an employee of Willy Wonka's. Veronica laughed inwardly at the mental image.

Veronica walked over to her table as the class began to pack their bags to prepare for the trek to the quad for lunch hour. "Hi. I'm Veronica," she stated lamely. _I'm sure she knows who you are, Veronica, you and your exploits are the talk of the Neptune High hallways._

"Uh, hi. I'm Mac. It's uh, nice to meet you. Can I help you with something?" Mac was surprised to be interrupted. She doesn't have any friends in this class, so she usually never looks up from her books and notes. It surprised her even more that it was the infamous Veronica Mars that interrupted her last minute cramming. She had always known who Veronica was of course, long before she became the rumored school slut. Mac always suspected that none of the rumors were true, but she had never actually spoken to the girl until now.

"Yea, I was just wondering if you would mind an extra at your table. You know, for lunch?" as soon as the question left her mouth she held her breath in anticipation. She just hoped there weren't any 09ers watching to see her be rejected.

Mac's face flashed with bewilderment, but it passed as quickly as it came and a small smile graced her lips. "Sure, I'm sure the guys would just love that." she said laughing. Veronica wasn't sure what she meant by that, but in that moment she couldn't care less; today would be the first day in months that she wouldn't be eating alone.

As Mac sits down at a table on the edge of the lunch area Veronica is greeted by the site of four of the geekiest looking guys she thinks she has ever seen. Veronica can't help but giggle at the open mouths gawking at her. "What, you've never seen a blonde in a short skirt before? Mac, you really need to take these guys out more." she declares as she sits to Mac's left. She wants to make sure she can see the 09 table from her vantage point so she can watch for Logan or one of the other 09ers. She doesn't want him to involve Mac and her friends in her war unnecessarily. Mac chuckles at Veronica's comment and introduces Veronica to the guys.

They chat over the pathetic cafeteria lunch and Veronica gets to know Mac and her friends a little better. Mac is apparently a computer whiz and so are some of her friends. Veronica feels at ease with them. She can be herself and she doesn't have a care in the world—for all of fifteen minutes. That's when she sees Logan Echolls stalking towards her. _I'm not going to let him try to hurt Mac and her friends. They don't deserve to be ridiculed just for allowing me to sit with them._

Veronica gave a lame excuse as to why she had to leave and started to stand up, but Mac put a hand on Veronica's arm to halt her. "Stay. We don't mind. It's not like people really like us anyway," she said softly. This was followed by a chorus of, "It's true" and "Stay" so she stayed and steeled herself for what was to come.

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Logan had been watching her ever since she exited the school building. He analyzed her every move as she talked and laughed with those freaks at their table. She looked even hotter today than she did yesterday, smiling like that—like she used to. Her hair was pulled into the tiniest of pigtails and she was wearing a short jean skirt that he knows is from her pre-Lilly's-death collection, but she pairs it with a black T-shirt that has a skull and cross bones across her chest, a dark red zip up hoodie and those appalling combat boots from yesterday. You'd never be able to tell that she used to wear pastel pink and sequins every day.

It wasn't fair. If Veronica could start her life over after Lilly, why couldn't he? He felt as though she was leaving the memories of Lilly and the fab four behind, although in the back of his mind he knew that Lilly would absolutely love this new Veronica and that just made him feel even worse.

Logan hadn't gotten wasted last night like he had intended. Instead he worked on his game plan to take Veronica Mars down. He knew he was obsessing and it was an unhealthy way to deal with his grief, but destroying Veronica was all he could think about. He needed to let her know who was boss, because clearly she had forgotten. He wasn't going to let some drugged up slip of the tongue become true; of course he wanted to hate her. He wanted to hate her more than anything, so he had fallen asleep with pictures of the fab four splayed across his comforter and a renewed determination to tear down Veronica and her new attitude.

Logan stood and made his way to Veronica's new table. _It's show time._

"Well, well, well. It looks like Veronica Mars has found herself some replacement friends already. I hope I'm not interrupting any important comic book related conversations." Logan gibed.

"No, Logan, we were actually discussing…you know what? It's probably above you're IQ level, so just don't worry about it." Veronica mocked back. She knew Logan was pretty smart, but he never applied himself so, she figured the insult still worked.

At the looks of annoyance he received from the other occupants of the table, he figured he was probably close to right so he continued, ignoring Veronica's insult. "Oh, I am, aren't I? I'll just leave you fellas to it." Logan said before he turned to address Veronica. "Ronnie, remember. Choose _one_ to sleep with and stick with him, cause if you start screwing all of them someone's bound to get jealous." he finished with a stern look as if he were giving her real advice. He found himself on edge waiting for what was sure to be an interesting reply.

If Veronica hadn't lived out the last few months of her life she wouldn't have been able to believe that audacity of one Logan Echolls. Fortunately, she had; and she was prepared. She almost stopped herself from bringing up Lilly, but wasn't Lilly the basis for all his insults directed at her? As if she didn't love Lilly enough. It outraged her that he could think something like that. Didn't he know? Didn't he know how much Lilly meant to her and that she would have done _anything_ to undo what happened to her? So, yes, she knew that it would be a low blow, but after months of holding in her anger, she was like a volcano unable to control its eruption.

"Right Logan, speaking from personal experience I assume. If I recall the last time you were dumped it was due to something like that." she said in a reminiscent tone.

"I…" But no words came to him. As Veronica spoke, tsunami waves of guilt crashed down over Logan. He had kissed another girl while dating Lilly. It was his fault that he wasn't with Lilly to protect her the day she died. But it was Veronica's fault too, right? If it wasn't for Veronica's tattle telling—well, or his drunken kiss—then there was Lilly's standing him up—he would have been there and he could have stopped it. He just feels it. _And Veronica probably thinks it too. She blames me and I blame her. _Logan can't believe it when he snaps back to reality and he realizes that a few stray tears have managed to fall down his cheeks. He misses Lilly so much. He still cries himself to sleep sometimes thinking about her brutal murder, and apparently he has started crying now too—in front of Veronica Mars _and_ in public. He takes what's left of his dignity and storms off in search of privacy. _So I can cry like the big baby that I am _he berates himself.

Veronica suddenly knew that she had taken it too far by bringing up Lilly. "Oh God, when did I become such a…?" she garbled with tears welling up behind her blue eyes. She turned back to the table full of watchful eyes. "Listen, I'm really sorry for ruining your lunch, but I have to go after him. Maybe, if you don't think I'm a terrible person, I'll see you tomorrow." she uttered. She got up and left the table without waiting for a response.

Veronica looked around in time to see a dark green blur go into the nearest entrance to the school. She glanced around the quad and found that no one seemed to have been watching the encounter which is a minor miracle, and was probably due to the fact that the gossip-seeking 09ers were sitting all the way across the quad. Veronica made a dash for the doorway and once inside looked around franticly for an indication of where he might have gone. Veronica thought back to the countless lunch periods she, Lilly, Logan and Duncan had spent holed up in the unfrequented yearbook room. The only time the room was inhabited was during the last two periods and Lilly had somehow snagged a key. Veronica headed in that direction hoping that she would find Logan there so she could apologize.

Veronica let out a breath as she turned the corner just in time to see the door to the yearbook room closing. _Please don't let him have the presence of mind to lock the door after him_. When she got to the door, she hesitated a moment. _Do I really want to do this? After every time he has made me cry, I deserve to make him cry, right? Come on Veronica, no one deserves that._

She twisted the door knob and felt it give, so she pushed open the door slowly. She immediately saw Logan sitting at one of the small tables facing away from her with his head in his hands. Veronica did have the presence of mind to lock the door behind her, so she turned and twisted the bolt into place. The resounding click caused Logan to look up and see Veronica for the first time.

"Veronica. Come to tell me what a terrible boyfriend I was to Lilly?" he asked. "It's not like I don't deserve it." This statement came out more as a mumble, but Veronica heard him loud and clear. Veronica looked at him with concern and sorrow and it dissolved the walls guarding his heart. "Why, Veronica? After everything I have done to you, why are you looking at me like that? I don't deserve your compassion."

"Maybe you're right," she said. And the look of agony that crossed his face would have been comical if it weren't for the tear streaks that ran along his cheeks. "Or maybe, you don't deserve me throwing your break up with Lilly in your face." she considered. He looked down at his feet wishing so hard that he wasn't allowing Veronica Mars to see him in such a vulnerable state. "I miss her too, you know, every day. No, every second." she whispered slowly. And he believed her.

Before she knew it, Veronica was holding Logan as he sobbed and shook like a small Californian tremor. "She's gone." he blubbered nearly incoherently. She instinctively traced patterns on his back with her fingernails and after a few minutes of that his tears dried up. Logan pulled back from her slowly but did not look up at her face. Logan was up and out the door in a flash, leaving Veronica behind to digest the events that just took place in solitude.

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**Please** review and let me know if you still like where this is going! And a special thanks to all my lovely reviewers!


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

**Previously: Veronica goes to Shelly Pomeroy's party, but Madison is the one to drink the laced rum and (diet) coke. Dick tries to rape Madison but Veronica stops him with Duncan's help. ****Logan and Veronica wage war.** **Madison asks Veronica and Duncan to come with her to the Sheriff's department. Veronica decided to hunt for a friend and meets Mac. Logan attempts to insult Veronica but is overwhelmed by guilt about Lilly's death. Veronica comforts him, but he leaves without saying a word.**

Veronica headed out to the parking lot that afternoon with no clear answer as to where she and Logan stood. She tried to tell herself that she didn't care, but after feeling guilty about their little spat for the rest of the day, it had been hard to ignore the fact that his feelings still mattered to her. Madison, Duncan and Veronica agreed to all drive to the police station individually so they could go their separate ways afterwards, but as she approached her car she noticed it seemed to be sitting lower to the ground than usual. When she got closer she could tell that the air had been let out of all four of her tires. _Well I guess that answers the question of where Logan and I stand_, she thought sadly.

Veronica had to run to catch up with Duncan before he got into the silver SUV. "Hey! Wait up!"

she called, hoping that she could reach him before he left since she already saw Madison pull out of the parking lot. _Great this is going to be so awkward. The only times I have talked to Duncan since he broke up with me have been over the phone yesterday, at Shelly's party, and does me asking him 'what's going on' without receiving an answer oh, say, 100 times count as talking? Yea, I didn't think so._

"Uh, Veronica I think we decided to ride separately, remember?" Duncan said hesitantly. It was obvious that he was happy with the predetermined plan.

"Yea, well that was before someone let all the air out of my tires. Madison's gone, so are you going to give me a ride or do I have to walk?" Veronica huffed out. She was very frustrated. She thought that Logan had forgiven her for what she had said, but apparently he hadn't. And Duncan being his usual post-breakup self is trying his hardest to avoid her which is not helping her mood one bit.

Veronica heard Duncan give an unenthusiastic "Sure. Hop in," as he jumped in the driver's seat, so she got in beside him. The first few minutes were so quiet that Veronica was going insane. Finally she decided to speak up.

"So, are you ready to give your statement?" she asked. "You might not want to mention just how badly you beat up Dick, unless they bring it up. You gave him quite a pounding—not that he didn't deserve it," she cut herself off once she realized she was babbling. He was quiet, and looked seriously uncomfortable. "You really don't remember hitting him?" she asks, curiosity getting the best of her.

"Yes, I remember. Of course I remember. I just, I didn't—I asked you because I wanted to know what happened _before_ I got there, that's all." Duncan stuttered out defensively. _Hmm… the night that I tried to tell dad that I was going to an all-girl slumber party (but fully intended to go to my first kegger with Lilly) he rattled off a list of ways to tell when someone is lying; and I if I remember correctly then I'm pretty sure that something is off with Duncan. And I intend to find out what that is._

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Everything went well inside the police station. Lamb was not happy about having to arrest an 09er, but what could he do with the victim being an 09er as well? He took statements from all three students one at a time. Madison's statement was pretty short. The only thing important that she remembered was Dick giving her a drink that must have been dosed. Duncan gave his statement willingly but it wasn't very informative and surprisingly vague. Veronica on the other hand gave him a very helpful and detailed description of the encounter with the Casablancas boy, but Lamb would never acknowledge just how useful her information had been. Apparently growing up with Keith Mars had taught her a thing or two.

The three students exited the sheriff's department and Madison donned a large pair of sunglasses and hurried away to her car without a word. As Veronica and Duncan head out to his vehicle so Duncan can take Veronica home, they saw a deputy standing next to the SUV writing a ticket. Veronica did not recognize him. When they got to the car Duncan spoke up, "Excuse me officer, but is there a problem?"

"Hello, Sir. Are you the owner of this vehicle?" At Duncan's affirmative nod the officer continued. "There are several unpaid parking tickets and a moving violation dated," he looked at his notepad for a second. "October third," he said unaffected. "I'm going to have to impound it."

Veronica and Duncan looked at each other quickly._ This guy is clearly new. He doesn't know who the Kane's are or what October third is and they have him patrolling…the parking lot? This is so just my luck. But what is this about a moving violation on the day Lilly died? This was Lilly's vehicle before she died. Could this affect the case?_

Veronica was so engrossed in the possible explanations for Lilly's ticket that she didn't even register that Lamb had come out front and had called off his dog. She looked up to find that Duncan was staring at her. "Veronica, I said are you ready to go?"

Thinking on her feet, Veronica told Duncan that she had left something inside the station and that she would be right back. She bolted up the front steps so that she would reach the station before the new cop could get too far. "Wait up." Veronica called after him. He turned around slowly to see the young girl that was with the Kane kid. "Umm, my brother decided while I was here I should pick up a copy of that moving violation so that we could get it paid off soon." she lied.

The young officer was delighted that these kids would still have to pay the fine, even if they didn't have to have the vehicle impounded. Just because they were important in this town shouldn't mean they were above the law.

The deputy smiled and said, "I'll just need to see your ID Miss Kane and I'll get a copy of _all_ the tickets for you." He looked at her expectantly but continued to smile at her.

Veronica looked at the officer's name plate and smiled back. "No problem Deputy D'Amato." Veronica digs through her purse until she comes to her wallet. She turns away from the deputy and pulls out the license under her own fake ID which lies under her real ID and prays he won't examine it too closely.

Deputy D'Amato briefly looks at the card and says, "Thanks, Lilly." As he walks away towards the front desk holding the ID down by his side Veronica lets out a sigh of relief. A couple weeks ago Veronica had opened up the mailbox to find two amazingly real fake IDs that she and Lilly had sent off for to get into 21 and over clubs. Veronica put her new fake in her wallet for emergencies but she was unsure of what to do with Lilly's. In the end she decided it was safer to keep it on her than to box it up during the move where her parents might find it, and besides she liked having the small reminder of Lilly in her purse. Now she was definitely glad she decided to keep it.

Shortly the deputy brought her a copy of the tickets personally and Veronica was pretty sure that the smile he kept throwing her way was his flirtatious smile, which brought a blush to her cheeks. "Thank you Deputy," she spoke softly.

"Call me Leo, Miss Kane." he flirted.

"Call me Veronica." she said automatically. At his look of confusion, Veronica realized her mistake and stumbled over a goodbye before she hurriedly walked out of the station.

Veronica hopped into the SUV with Duncan and he drove off, not noticing the relief on Veronica's face as they made it out of the parking lot, or the stack of papers sticking out of her purse. The ride to her apartment was silent aside from Veronica giving Duncan directions to her new place.

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Logan was lost in thought. He had been thinking about the incident during lunch hour ever since he bolted out of the yearbook room. It had felt so good to let Veronica comfort him today. She clearly regretted what she said and after she chased him inside it was as if she was herself again; the good and sweet Veronica Mars. Maybe she didn't blame him for Lilly's death. But after Logan's tears stopped falling he rapidly became aware of how wrong it _should_ feel.

Logan had nuzzled his cheek softly against Veronica's shirt in order to dry the last drop as it slid down his face, but the move made him conscious of just how close his face was to Veronica Mars' chest. He pulled back slowly and stared at the print on her shirt that had drawn his attention earlier that day. All coherent thought in Logan's mind was replaced by thoughts of what lies beneath that skull and cross bones design and how unbearably close they were to each other.

Thinking about Veronica in this way—a way he hadn't thought of her in years—made him remember the kiss they shared the previous weekend. In hindsight, he knew he wanted it. He was more disappointed than he was any other emotion when Veronica humiliated him in front of everyone. He wanted to prove that she couldn't resist his charm, but instead he proved to himself that he had fallen for hers. Still not looking up to Veronica's eyes, he imagined what would happen if he kissed her now. He thought he would most likely be slapped in the face.

He had to get out of there quickly. His impure thoughts had begun to smother him. So he ran. He ran to his next classroom and distractedly took his last final for the day, and once he was done he continued to run. He sat in his room now, but his thoughts were still on Veronica.

This was _Veronica Mars_ he was thinking about. Lilly's best friend. Duncan's ex-girlfriend. The girl who betrayed him. God! He wished he could stop thinking about her for five minutes.

Logan's phone rang and he saw Dick's name on the screen. _Good, a distraction._ Logan answers the call gratefully. "Hey Dick, what's up?"

"Dude, I didn't see you around after school today. Where'd you go?" Dick asks.

When Logan had skipped out after his last final for the day, he made a bee-line for the XTerra and drove straight home. He needed to get away from Neptune High as soon as possible. He only answers Dick with a vague, "I took off early."

"Well you missed out cause we got Ronnie good today, dude! Sean had this awesome idea to let all the air out of her tires. It was so cool man! She asked Duncan for a ride and he totally took her, too. What a push over." he laughs. Then his tone changes from excited to perverted, "Or maybe she just offered to pay him in sexual favors."

Logan couldn't believe it. Even Dick wasn't a distraction. _I can't escape her._ He wasn't sure how he felt about the prank they had pulled on Veronica. Any other day and he would have certainly enjoyed it, but today was different. He wondered how she must have felt when she came outside to find her car un-drivable. No doubt she believed Logan was responsible.

Logan wondered if what Dick said about Duncan taking her home was true. He thought back to his conversation with Duncan over the weekend when he all but admitted he still had feelings for Veronica. He didn't acknowledge the knot in his stomach at the idea of Duncan and Veronica getting back together; he was sure that just had to do with the fact that she was a traitor and Logan thought his best friend deserved better.

Dick heard a knock on the door and told Logan he'd talk to him later. Logan fell back onto his bed and let his mind continue to wander.

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Wednesday Mac came up to Veronica in study hall and started up a conversation like nothing happened yesterday and Veronica couldn't have been more thankful. Mac and the boys had figured that if she cared so much about someone that was so cruel to her, then she would most likely be an even better ally. Mac invited Veronica to lunch again and she graciously accepted.

While eating a greasy hamburger and lukewarm fries that the cafeteria provided, Veronica spent a pleasant lunch period getting to know Mac and her friends better. Veronica made it her mission to not look over to the 09er table for the entire lunch period. If she had glanced to the umbrella-shielded, freshly-painted end of the patio she might have caught Logan in a stare. He watched her throughout lunch, ignoring his friends. Of course the drama of Dick Casablancas being called in for questioning last night had everyone so talkative that no one noticed Logan's odd behavior.

Logan dreamt of Veronica last night. He woke up abruptly unable to remember the details of his dream, but he could clearly remember Veronica and he could tell from the warm fuzzy feeling he had that whatever he had been dreaming was pleasant. Of course once the realization hit him of who it was that made him feel that way, the happiness dissipated rather quickly. For the rest of the day he had been in a terrible mood.

Veronica, oblivious to the thoughts racing through Logan's mind, continued talking and laughing with Mac's table until lunch was over. As she was walking to class Mac's friend, Alex, caught up with her. "Veronica, wait up. Uh, your dad's like a private eye or something right?" At Veronica's affirmative nod, he continued. "So, uh, how much would it cost to hire him? See, I have this laptop, and it has some pretty valuable information I've been working on for over a year now. I have backups, but I can't just let the originals go. This program is going to be my college fund. The laptop was taken out of my locker one day. The lock was broken and it was just gone. I really need to find it, but I don't have a lot of money."

Veronica thought about Alex's predicament. Keith asked Veronica if she wanted to work for him as his receptionist when he first opened Mars Investigations shortly after they were settled in to the new apartment. She had given it some thought and decided it was better than flipping burgers or selling clothes, so she started working for him about a month ago. The receptionist duties were bland but she had learned a lot from her father already. He told her stories about almost every case that he had taken since Mars Investigations opened.

Veronica felt bad for Alex. She knew something like this could take several man hours and still be fruitless, and at her dad's hourly rate it could really add up. Knowing that was what sparked Veronica's spontaneous suggestion. "You know Alex, maybe _I_ could help."

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When Veronica got to Mars Investigations that afternoon, she got right to work. Once she had completed her usual afternoon duties Veronica wanted to figure out a way to help Alex. She knew the school had cameras in the main hallways and since Alex was a senior, he most likely had a locker in one of those hallways. Veronica called Mac to check on his locker location. Once she confirmed her theory she asked Mac if she could help getting a hold of that footage. Mac seemed to think that it would be a piece of cake and told her she would email her the video files. Alex had narrowed it down to a two hour window, so if there was a good angle on his locker, Veronica was hopeful that her end would be a piece of cake as well.

With nothing else to work on she started looking around for something to do. She glanced at her school books and remembered Lilly's ticket. She had stuffed it in her geometry notebook when she got home because her dad had fixed lasagna and wanted her to join him for a family dinner. She wasn't sure why she felt the need to hide it from him, but she supposed she just didn't want to get his hopes up on a possible lead. Not to mention that she would have to explain exactly _how_ she acquired the ticket. She had completely forgotten to look it over until now.

Veronica held her ear up to her father's office door. He was on the phone, and by the sounds of his half of the conversation he was talking to Cliff, the local if-you-can-not-afford-a-lawyer lawyer. They had been friendly before, but since Keith started working as a private investigator Cliff had been a big help throwing cases his way. Content that her dad would be busy for a while, Veronica opened up her notebook and pulled out the relevant traffic ticket.

The first thing Veronica saw was Lilly—a picture of Lilly laughing or possibly singing along to her radio as she ran a red light. She looked beautiful and so full of life. She looked very Lilly. Veronica had to look away to keep from tearing up. Finally calming down she went to inspect the ticket further. She gasped at the time stamp on the ticket. _6:02 PM. Oh my God. Lilly's time of death was supposed to be around four o'clock. What does this mean?_

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**Please review if you're happy, review if you're sad, review if you're laughing, or review if you're mad! **

**Guys, I am terribly sorry about the long wait this time. From here down will be my explanation and excuses as to why it has been so long, so if you don't care, stop now. I just moved to a new apartment in a new city in a new state. Moving takes a lot of time. I got a new job and since I started writing this while I was in between jobs, I am having trouble finding time to continue. Also, I didn't have internet for the first few weeks of living here. But I will continue, I swear, because I hate when people leave stories unfinished. LoVe.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

**Previously: Veronica goes to Shelly Pomeroy's party, but Madison is the one to drink the laced rum and (diet) coke. Dick tries to rape Madison but Veronica stops him with Duncan's help.** **Logan and Veronica wage war. Veronica meets Leo and discovers Lilly's ticket while helping Madison. Veronica decided to hunt for a friend and meets Mac; her friend Alex needs help. Logan is conflicted over how he feels about the events that took place in the yearbook room.**

Logan wasn't sure exactly how he had ended up here—staring at a stained glass window pane willing it to become clear so he could see inside. He remembered the first time he had noticed the new sign on the door of the long-time unoccupied building. 'Mars Investigations' it had read. He thought it was ridiculous that the Mars family was even staying in Neptune and now Keith Mars was starting his own business. Logan thought for sure that no one in this town would be willing to go to Keith Mars with their secrets, but two months later he was still in business. And seeing that the lights were on, they were obviously making enough for rent and their electricity bill.

Logan had no idea where Veronica had moved to, but he knew she didn't live in her old house anymore. That is, if he could believe the gossip in the halls. _No, I don't believe the gossip in the halls, but I already checked her old house and found it empty._ He didn't really think Veronica would be at her dad's office either, but there was her tacky LeBaron sitting on the curb five cars in front of him.

Since Dick called and told Logan about the prank the guys pulled on Veronica yesterday, he had felt an irrational need for her to know that it wasn't him. He wasn't sure why it mattered. He knew that only a few days ago he would have gladly been the one to do the honors of letting the air out of her tires. Even now he kind of wished he thought of such a brilliant plan first. In fact, if it was his idea he probably would have slashed her tires so she would have to buy all new ones instead of just re-filling them with air. _Damn, I'm such a prick._

As he walked the sidewalk to the door and climbed the stairs to the second story Logan realized that he didn't know what he would say, but he assumed the words would come to him. He took a deep breath and quickly opened the door.

When Veronica heard the sound coming from the front of the office, her first instinct was to swing her hand holding Lilly's ticket behind her back. This of course drew all of Logan's attention to the white blur now out of his view. The second thing he saw was the alarm written on Veronica's face. "Logan?" The word came out in a harsh whisper as Veronica glanced to the closed door that Logan presumed was her father's office.

"What are you hiding Veronica?" he asked quietly as he stepped toward her. Seeing Veronica in panic mode brought a smirk to his face. He couldn't help but feel a little happy that he had flustered her. He was having a hard time remembering why he originally came, but he knew he wanted to find out what piece of paper had gotten her this worked up. Not to mention she appeared to be hiding it from her dad as well, so it must be good.

Veronica stepped backwards until she was up against the stained glass window. "I can promise you that it is something you would rather not see Logan." She hoped that this would deter him, but he continued to step forward until he was hovering over her. He was so close that she could feel the body heat radiating off of him.

"Oh, I see. You want me to guess? Ok…" Logan looked up to the ceiling as if to contemplate what he thought Veronica was hiding. "A love note from Duncan perhaps? Wait, I know, a love note _to_ Duncan?" he bit out. He wasn't sure why, this was the first thing he thought to blurt out after she said it was 'something he would rather not see' but now he really couldn't keep from taunting her. He briefly thought that he might be taunting himself just as much with those guesses but he quickly stored those ideas in the back of his mind.

Veronica wasn't sure how to get out of this situation without her dad finding out about the ticket, but then Veronica realized, _I do want Dad to find out about the ticket. It isn't just false hope anymore, this is big._ So she gave Logan her best confident smirk and called out calmly, "Dad, could you come out here please?"

Logan immediately stepped back. He wasn't afraid of _Sheriff _Mars, but he was afraid of Veronica's_ father_, and what he would do to anyone who threatened her. Logan felt a sharp pang at the thought of a father defending their offspring instead of being the one they hide from, but he quickly composed himself.

Veronica knew that calling her dad out of his office would make Logan back off, but she wasn't exactly sure what to do when the door opened and Keith stepped out. He was looking back and forth from Veronica to Logan with a somewhat confused expression on his face. "Yes, honey?"

Still not knowing what to do, Veronica thrust the ticket into her dad's hands. "Veronica, where did you get this?" he asked her seeming confused.

"Dad, that is clearly not what's important here. Look at the date. The time. Don't you see what this means!" Veronica cried. Logan was so confused. He just sat back and watched the interaction between the father and daughter team.

"This is real? You're sure?" he asked with what appeared to be hope in his eyes. Veronica shook her head yes without speaking. Logan noticed the same hope reflected in her eyes.

Logan cleared his throat. "Umm guys. I'm still here." he stated after his curiosity started to get the better of him. "Care to share?"

Keith answered him, "Logan I'm sorry, but Mars Investigations is very busy and we are not able to take your case at this time." Before he even finished his statement he had dismissed Logan's presence and was back focused on Veronica with that hopeful stare.

"That's great, but I'm not here for a case. I'm here to see Veronica." he said as if it was perfectly natural for him to stop by and see Veronica. "But first I want to know what is going on. Why are you hiding something from me?" he directed to Veronica.

Veronica and Keith shared an intense look as if to ask 'to share or not to share?' They seemed to come to a silent agreement and Veronica spoke for them. "Logan," she began, taking the paper from her father and placing it gently in Logan's hands. "This is a moving violation Lilly got on the day she died." Logan's eyes were clearly stuck on the image of the girl that meant so much to both teenagers. Veronica used her index finger to draw his attention to the important part of the page. "Lilly's time of death was supposedly two hours earlier than this. Logan," she said so that he would look into her eyes. "This photo was taken hours after Abel Koontz claimed he killed her."

Logan wasn't able to process the information quickly enough. He needed time to think. So he put on his mask and did what he did best. He pissed Veronica off. "Right. Right. Would you two stop at nothing to put Jake Kane behind bars? Why would I believe that this is real?"

Keith started to reply, but Veronica beat him to it. "Logan we don't _want_ it to be Jake. Don't you understand? My dad is following the _evidence_. And here is yet another piece that suggests a cover up. Her time of death was altered." Veronica softened her voice and continued. "Logan there is so much that we still don't know. I understand if you just want to forget all about this and chalk it up to Veronica Mars being obsessive and insane. But Logan, one day this is all going to make sense. You'll see."

Logan looked as though he was considering Veronica's words. Finally he handed the ticket back to Veronica and shook his head slightly. "Veronica I came to say thanks. For yesterday. And I wanted you to know that it wasn't me who let the air out of your tires. I'm sorry if you thought it was. I'll see you around Veronica."

Logan walked out the front door of Mars Investigations with a million questions buzzing through his brain. When he got to his XTerra he sat behind the wheel, but didn't twist the key; and he ran through each question one at a time.

After Logan left, Veronica immediately turned to Keith. "Dad I know you haven't worked on the case in a while, but I—"

"Veronica there is something I have to show you." Keith interrupted her. He led Veronica into his office and bent down to unlock his safe. A few seconds later he pulled out a thick file and handed it to Veronica. "This is everything I have on Lilly's murder. I haven't given up Veronica. I just didn't want you to have to keep reliving her death by knowing that I was still looking into her case."

Veronica let out a deep breath. Hearing that her dad was not satisfied with letting Lilly's killer go made her remember just why she loved him so much. Lilly's family ruined his life, but he still wanted justice for his daughter's best friend. She smiled up at him. "Dad, I want to help. I want in on the investigation. Please, let's not keep secrets from each other."

"Veronica, I am truly happy with what you have found today, but this is way too dangerous for you. Just because you've come with me on a couple of stake outs doesn't mean you are ready for a full on search for a murder. We already know whoever did this is capable of killing a teenage girl. I can't put you at risk." he said and he prayed she would listen.

Veronica nodded her head and sighed. She knew he had a point, but this was Lilly they were talking about. She couldn't let it go. And if her dad wanted to pass up her offer of not keeping secrets—well that was just his loss then.

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So far Leo thought his first few weeks of working at the Balboa County Sherriff's department had been hell. Being the new guy so close to Christmas he was working like crazy, but since he hadn't had all of his training he was stuck with mostly paperwork. After some—pleading?—no he wouldn't call it pleading. After some subtle hints he dropped the Sherriff, he finally allowed him to patrol the parking lot. It sounded lame to him at first, but he got in some good practice looking up license plates. That was when it got interesting.

He couldn't believe his luck. There in the parking lot sat a vehicle that was riddled with unpaid parking tickets and even a moving violation. And that was how he met _her_. The girl who he thought was a beautiful heiress, but turned out to be enemy number one. He had been baffled by her 'call me Veronica' statement until he googled the name Lilly Kane. The name had hundreds of hits; each more disturbing than the last. He read all about the death of the computer genius' daughter. He read about how her death affected so many people including her brother Duncan, her boyfriend, the son of Aaron Echolls, and her best friend Veronica. He watched the crime scene video of her dead body lying next to the Kane pool. He watched clips of her father pouring his heart out to the media, asking the community to throw out the former Sheriff. He watched footage of Koontz being arrested by Lamb. And finally he saw _her_. Standing next to the ex-Sheriff himself, Keith Mars. The caption read 'Veronica Mars' and finally he understood.

_So Keith Mars' daughter weaseled all of Lilly Kane's traffic tickets out of me. What could she possibly be up to? The Sheriff will not be happy with me. But I suppose what he doesn't know won't hurt him, right? In the mean time I plan to find out what exactly she would want with Lilly's unpaid tickets. This town is going to be interesting._

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By the time Veronica got home, she was exhausted. Keith had opted to stay and work on Lilly's case. Veronica knew he would be at it for a while, and she wondered if he would make it home at all tonight. He had such a determined look on his face. Veronica went straight to her room and put on a pair of her pajamas that Lilly had given her. She loved wearing the clothes Lilly had given her. In fact, the clothes Lilly supplied Veronica were the only clothes from her old wardrobe that she planned to wear any more. She made a mental note to box some stuff up to donate to good will.

Veronica had so many thoughts swirling around in her head right now that there was no way she could sleep, so she opened up her laptop and turned on a playlist she had created just for this kind of sleepless night. She laid down and let the evenings events wash over her.

_So Logan knows. He knows something very important to our case and it's my fault. But maybe it won't be so bad. I saw the look on his face when he realized that it wasn't just an altered time of death. This ticket meant that Abel Koontz admitted to killing Lilly at four o'clock when she was clearly still alive and kicking. Why lie about a detail like that if you are already freely admitting to the crime?_

Veronica wasn't afraid of what Logan would tell the school about her delusional behavior. The only thing that worried her about Logan knowing was that he might let it slip to the person responsible and they would find out that Keith and Veronica were on to them.

The new piece of evidence was going to be crucial in proving Abel's innocence, but it really didn't help narrow down the suspect list any further. In fact, now none of the Kane's had alibis. Veronica rolled over and pulled a notepad out of her nightstand drawer. She scribbled down the combination to her father's safe that she had watched him unlock earlier. If he wasn't going to let her help she was going to have to help herself. She needed to see everyone's timelines for their alibis. What she would really love to get her hands on is a copy of the interrogation tapes, but she doubted even her dad had a copy of those.

Veronica heard a 'ding' as her computer when she received an email from Mac. Thankful for the break from her thoughts, she opened the email to find the surveillance footage of the main hallway at Neptune High. Veronica made quick work of watching the surveillance tape by watching the empty hallway at 4X speed. About halfway through the feed, she found the culprit. He was clearly a student, but no one that Veronica recognized. She printed a few stills of the criminal act and the face of the culprit. She sent an email to both Mac and Alex and asked them to meet her in the morning before school.

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The next morning Veronica met with Mac and Alex before school. It turned out that the guy from the video was actually one of Alex's close friends from Pan High that was pulling a prank on him. Alex was slightly pissed at said friend, but after a short cell phone conversation and a promise to get him back for this, all seemed to be forgiven. Still, Alex couldn't have been more appreciative of Mac and Veronica. Veronica was actually starting to get embarrassed by all the praise she was receiving. She felt as though this was the easiest case ever and she had been very lucky and had a huge help from Mac. But Mac swore that she would have never thought to hack the camera feed on her own and Alex begged her for help when it came time to get his friend back. Finally she relented just to get him to stop asking. By the time the first bell rang for class Veronica was a little red-faced but she was glad that she could help her new friend.

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By now, all of Neptune High knew all about Dick Casablancas and Madison Sinclair's business. Well—they all knew several different versions of their business. Some believed that Madison had been a willing participant but regretted it later so she reported that Dick tried to rape her. Others heard that Veronica Mars had completed Dick and Madison's kinky threesome that night. Another rumor was that Dick had actually raped Madison and Duncan had come to her rescue, and now they were dating. Only a few of Madison's girlfriends knew the truth, but even some of them were the ones spreading the false rumors.

Dick and Madison's lawyers came to a settlement agreement and, to Madison's dismay Dick was getting of pretty easy. The punishment of community service duty and probation seemed unjust, but what could she do? More than anything she hated how unaffected he looked. At school, his name was on everyone's lips, and even though most of the talk was negative he seemed to be soaking it up like it was praise.

He had been hanging with Cassidy a lot since the party, and she hadn't seen him with Logan or Duncan at all which calmed her nerves somewhat. If the two most popular guys at school were on her side she felt like her status would be safe. Since Lilly had died and Veronica had been shunned there hadn't been anyone to take on the role of 09er Queen. Madison had kind of been hoping to take that crown, but now she wasn't so sure. Since the party she had found herself wanting to fade into the background—which of course was impossible due to the unbelievable amount of gossip about her.

So after school when Veronica approached Madison with an idea of how to make Dick pay, Madison couldn't say no.

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Keith was pulling another all-nighter at the office. Veronica was just thinking how glad she was to have a little time to herself when she heard a knock at the door. Veronica followed her guard-dog-in-training, Backup, to the door where she could see the shadow of a figure through the sheer curtains. Veronica peeked through the window and was taken completely off guard by who she saw. She took a second to compose herself and apprehensively opened the door to none other than Logan Echolls. His demeanor was similar to that of when she saw him the day after Lilly died. He looked unsure of himself and he had his coat wrapped tightly around his body with his forearms holding it securely in place. "Logan what are you doing here?"

Logan looked her in the eye and answered. "I want you to find Lilly's killer."

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So. I am hoping that the reason reviews were down this time was because it took so long to post and therefore you hate _me_ and not because you hated the _chapter_. **Please** let me know if you are still with me here. I hope that since I am posting sooner you will give me some love. It really does motivate! Which reminds me, **thanks** to all those that did review, you are inspiring!


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